`Frog Alleyians' Plan Reunion

Delray Proclamation Pays Tribute To Neighborhood's Legacy

DELRAY BEACH - — It sounds like a legend, but "Frog Alleyians" and other folks around town swear by this story.

Frogs were so abundant and croaked so loudly when it rained that a low lying section of the city west of Swinton Avenue was dubbed "Frog Alley."

"It was just like living next to the railroad tracks," said Gertrude C. Greene, who was born in Frog Alley. "There were so many frogs when it rained that they had to have come out of the sky. Where else could they come from?''

No one is sure when or why the name stuck - croaking frogs were all over the city in low areas without drainage - but it did.

City Commissioners recently issued a proclamation recognizing Frog Alleyians for their proud legacy and achievements.

Residents, eager to reminisce about the good times and caring families of Frog Alley, are holding a two-day reunion, which began last night with a musical festival of drums, cowbells and other instruments.

"Now Frog Alley will be known," said reunion organizer, Greene, 68. "It was such a close-knit community. There was so much caring. Everybody looked out for each other."

Frog Alley's borders - Southwest Third Avenue, Southwest Fourth Street, Southwest Seventh Avenue and Atlantic Avenue - are familiar to many residents, even though the name isn't.

Many of the enclave's early settlers came from the Bahamas or Miami to work on farms. In an era that predated street signs, residents identified their streets by the people who lived on them: `Joe Reynolds Corner," "Up in the Sands," "Hannah Town" and "Blackmans Street."

Don't look for any frog markers or frog memorabilia. The streets and houses are similar to those in neighboring enclaves.

The city's longtime black residents know where Frog Alley is and can recount its significance, but Greene and other organizers hope the reunion will change that.

Vera Farrington, a retired educator and history buff, said she plans to work to get Frog Alley added to the local historic registry because it dates back more than 50 years and has social significance.

"Ever since I can remember, it has been called Frog Alley," said Farrington, 60, who moved to the area at age 5 and stayed until 1971. "People are proud to say they live in Frog Alley. If you were from Frog Alley, you considered yourself somebody. We were like family."

Preston Wright, 64, said he, too, has fond memories of his neighborhood.

"People were poor, but you couldn't tell one family from the other," he said. "If one had something, all of the families got some of it. But that time has come to pass."

Reunion organizers said the heritage should be passed to other generations.

"We have lost so much," Greene said. "We don't want to lose it. We want to pass it on to our children."

Zack Straghn, who lives in the area and operates his funeral business there, said one thing that has not totally disappeared from the area is the sound.